Hagar Cohen: It’s called mixed martial arts, or MMA, and many in the crowd of several hundred are here for the blood sport.

Man: MMA’s just animal fighting. It means being able to release all anger inside when you get in that ring. That’s what MMA fighting’s about; it’s about ripping the other person’s heart out and eating it.

Hagar Cohen: Others are here to see the fighting skills.

Man: In a few years, MMA will take over and leave every sport for dead, I guarantee you.

Hagar Cohen: Why do you love it so much?

Man: Because it shows heart, it shows skill. Just the training of it, the feeling of it.

(Music)

Hagar Cohen: MMA, otherwise known as cage fighting, is on the rise. The international professional circuit has become a multi-billion dollar industry in little more than a decade. It is dominated by the US-based Ultimate Fighting Championship, the UFC, with global television coverage and big prize money on offer.

(Noise from training)

The Australian league is small with modest earnings, but at the grassroots level, participation numbers are big and growing. Larry Papadopoulos runs a well-known fight gym in Sydney, where he teaches MMA.

Larry Papadopoulos: Mixed martial arts rules are a mixture of striking and grappling. So the easiest way is, you can do everything you can do in the striking style, such as punch, kick, knee, and elbow, and then you can also do anything in the grappling style, such as throw, lock, strangle. There are certain moves which are obviously considered too dangerous, so you cannot try and break someone’s neck, which would be quite illegal.

The interesting thing about mixed martial arts is you won’t find anything in mixed martial arts that no other current sport, legitimate sport, does. That’s the great thing about it. So it’s really a mixture of all combative sports.

(To trainee) Make sure you penetrate in with your step…

Hagar Cohen: Fans of MMA are prepared to pay up to $100 to watch amateur cage fighters. There’s at least one of those shows happening somewhere in Australia every weekend. In the next bout, at the Bankstown Function Hall in Sydney, is a fighter who calls himself ‘The Cookie Monster’.

‘The Cookie Monster’: I’m a cook, for one, I’m a chef by trade, I’m a Cook Islander, and when I’m in the ring I’m a monster!

Hagar Cohen: So how did you get into MMA?

‘The Cookie Monster’: It’s quite a story, actually, but I got into MMA through the fact that when I was a youngster, I was a little bit of a troublemaker. Could have seen myself going to jail. So from the upbringing that I’ve had to, like I said, nearly going to jail, pub brawling, I mean, I thought maybe, ‘You know what? If I want to have a fight, why not fight a guy who’s trained to fight as well? That way at least the fight’s even.’

Hagar Cohen: Like Johnny, ‘The Cookie Monster’, many of the fighters use nicknames in the same vein as world series wrestlers. But while the wrestling is a lot of dramatic fakery, MMA is real. The fighters love it. Peter Graham is a kickboxing and boxing champion, now professional MMA fighter.

Peter Graham: I want to be the champ. More than anything, more than anything else—more than breathing, more than food, more than being cool, more than having a girlfriend, more than owning a car—I wanted to be the champ. I wanted to have that belt and I would do anything to have it.

Hagar Cohen: What’s the worst you’ve ever done to someone in the cage?

Peter Graham: During a boxing match I put a guy into a coma in Queensland. Once another guy I gave a stroke. I’ve broken a couple of arms, busted heaps of noses, jaws, ribs. But those things heal. The guy came out of the coma; he’s fine. The guy with the stroke; he got better. He retired, but he’s OK. But I guess probably, which any fighter will know is the physical injuries pale in significance, I guess, to taking away their dream or taking away their title. That’s far worse.

Hagar Cohen: This intense passion is driving the growth of the sport, and as we’ll hear later, the authorities are struggling to keep up. MMA is legal; it does have rules and regulations. But critics say this doesn’t matter, because to the average observer it appears to be no more than a violent and bloody affair.

Cage fighting is banned in a number of places, including New York. In Australia, the Victorian government has banned the use of the cage, but allows MMA fights in a ring. One of the most outspoken critics of the sport is Rob White. He’s professor of criminology at the University of Tasmania.

Rob White: I don’t like cage fighting at all. Now, regardless of what the participants may think, the fact is that to the spectator what you see is something that appears to be no holds barred; it appears to be that there’s no rules, and basically that’s how it’s being sold. It’s being sold as the new gladiator contest, and it’s being sold in essence as a blood sport. This is serious fighting, this is serious bloodshed, and this is serious violence, then it’s portrayed back to us as simply entertainment.

Hagar Cohen: Professor White doesn’t think the sport should be banned. He says it has to be more closely regulated.

Rob White: Banning may not be a solution because it’s already become more or less entrenched, I think. For me, the key question is how do we regulate and how do we do it in a way that’s to the benefit of the participants as much as for the spectators.

Hagar Cohen: The need for good regulation is one thing everyone agrees on, but it’s all over the place in Australia. Some events follow the rules and regulations to the letter and they’re closely scrutinised. Others do what they like, and no one’s looking. Sydney promoter, John Ioannou:

John Ioannou: At the moment, there’s events where, you know, it’s open slather; they can do what they want. At the end of the day it’s just a recipe for an accident to happen.

Hagar Cohen: The fighters are in a hurry to make it to the top, and the Holy Grail is the Ultimate Fighting Championship. It’s difficult to get into the UFC, but one of the top Australian MMA fighters, Richie ‘Vas’, hopes to get an offer.

Richie ‘Vas’ Vaculik: Absolutely, that’s the ultimate goal. I think you ask any fighter what show they want to be a part of in the world, they’re going to say they want to be a part of the UFC. The best fighters are contracted to the UFC, the biggest shows is the UFC. If you are a UFC champ, you’re pretty much considered the best in the world.

That’s where the earnings start to go up. If you can be successful in the UFC, it’s the best stage to promote yourself as an athlete, as a fighter. So that’s where endorsement deals and the contracts and your purse starts to go up, and that’s where you can really start to live the ritzy lifestyle if you’re successful.

Hagar Cohen: In the meantime, Richie ‘Vas’ has to juggle a punishing training regime with his work as a carpet layer.

Richie ‘Vas’ Vaculik: If I can stay busy with fighting it pays its way for me just to live that lifestyle of training each day and just preparing for fights. If I was to stick to laying carpet, I’d be earning much more money. At the moment, it’s still pretty young and it’s pretty hard to make a living off it here in Australia.

Hagar Cohen: So can you tell me how much do you make per fight?

Richie ‘Vas’ Vaculik: Like, for the fight I can make anything from $4000 to $6000. And my last fight I had nine weeks’ preparation for, so it kind of covers those nine weeks that you’re not really bringing in too much money, and then… No, as I said, there’s not too much ritzy about it. I’m actually after this interview I’m doing, friends of mine, I’m doing a three-bedroom unit. So if there’s work pops up, I just try and juggle it in, you know what I mean?

(Noise from fight night)

Hagar Cohen: At a recent fight night in Geelong, Richie ‘Vas’ fought in the main event. It was the Australian Fighting Championship and he won in the first round.

(Commentary and noise from fight night)

Commentator: The boy’s a weapon. Who wants him? Who wants to take him on?

Hagar Cohen: For the next bout, fighter Rusty McBride is preparing for war.

Official: (To Rusty) Let me know when you’ve got your gloves on and I’ll sign them off as well.

Hagar Cohen: And Rusty was soon in the wars. He got a nasty cut after being kneed in the head. The doctor intervened to stop the fight, because Rusty was bleeding heavily.

(Crowd noise)

After the fight, the doctor treated Rusty for a scalp laceration and checked if his vision was impaired from a scratched cornea.

Man: Get the scissors. Cut the gloves off please.

Peter Langer: Just lie back. Is my hand moving or is my hand still?

Rusty McBride: Yeah, yeah, your hand’s moving.

Peter Langer: And now?

Rusty McBride: Still.

Doctor: OK.

Hagar Cohen: If you go to the Background Briefing website you can see pictures of Rusty McBride during his fight. His doctor, Peter Langer, says the number of MMA events have increased rapidly, particularly amateur events. There can be huge differences between the way professional and amateur events are run and scrutinised. Peter Langer says in Victoria all are treated equally.

Peter Langer: Certainly if I’m attending an amateur bout I treat it exactly the same. I give them pre-fight interview, pre-fight checks, and post-fight checks, exactly as I would behave with any fighter.

Hagar Cohen: Why is that? Why do you feel it’s as important to check the amateur fighters as well as you do the professionals?

Peter Langer: Because the fighting is the same, the potential injuries are the same, so it’s certainly important to behave in exactly the same manner in terms of their medical clearance.

Hagar Cohen: Do you perceive this sport as a safe sport?

Peter Langer: I think we make it as safe as it reasonably can be. Regulation certainly makes it safer than anything occurring in an unregulated manner.

Hagar Cohen: This system in Victoria works best, says promoter John Ioannou.

John Ioannou: Forget about using the words amateur and professional, right? I mean those days are basically finished. There are amateurs out there now that really should be professionals. So the system in Victoria, what happens is everybody is registered in Victoria. There is no amateur or professional status: everybody’s registered; everybody has a medical book. From a safety point of view, that is the best system.

Hagar Cohen: The most lenient approach to regulation is in Queensland, where promoters are free to run their events however they like. In New South Wales there’s legislation to control professional and amateur events, but the oversight is where the problem lies.

Professional MMA fighters are registered, the promoters are licensed, there are compulsory medical checks, and government officials monitor the events. Amateur shows—by far the majority of MMA events—are supposed to be regulated, but in reality, many escape the laws. As we’re about to hear, there are fight shows where there’s no doctor, athletes fight without medical record books and without blood tests to show they’re clear of blood-borne diseases. Fighters step into the cage weekend after weekend despite being concussed, subjecting themselves to serious brain injuries. The New South Wales Combat Sports Authority, which is supposed to regulate this industry, is struggling to keep pace.

Background Briefinghas discovered that some officials at amateur shows don’t even know there are regulations; for example, at this recent MMA event in Sydney, which featured one professional and several amateur fights:

(Fight announcer)

As the fights get going, the doctor, Seth Tarrant, is busy checking fighters before and after bouts to make sure they’re in good shape.

Hagar Cohen: One of the fights ends with a knockout. In the dressing room, Dr Tarrant talks to the losing fighter, Richard.

Seth Tarrant: How do you feel, Richard?

Richard: Yeah, absolutely fine, mate. Yeah, yeah.

Seth Tarrant: OK. It’s a pretty common sport to get this sort of flash knockouts.

Richard: Oh yeah, I’m fine. Like, not hurting or anything like that. Just got caught, did something dumb, but you know, these things happen. Yeah. I’ve actually got a fight next weekend.

Hagar Cohen: Are you going to be OK?

Richard: Oh yeah, yeah, I’ll be absolutely fine. I’m absolutely fine.

Hagar Cohen: And Dr Seth, is he going to be OK for the fight next week?

Seth Tarrant: Doesn’t really matter about the fight. It matters about going out on the town afterwards and finding a couple of sheilas, doesn’t it? That’s what I’d have thought they’d do after the glory, you know? (Richard laughs)

Richard: No, mate, I’ll be going home to my four little kiddies and having a bit of fun. I’m a dad; I do this for fun.

Hagar Cohen: Despite the jokey banter, Dr Tarrant is concerned about Richard fighting again so soon after a knockout. But Seth Tarrant says there’s not much he can do about it, because this is an amateur fight.

Seth Tarrant: A lot of these amateur fights aren’t regulated by the government, so in terms of regulating how often fighters fight and what should be the medical suspension from something like that, which is a concussion, well, it’s a contentious issue to say the least.

Hagar Cohen: So did that worry you that he said that he was going to fight next week?

Seth Tarrant: Yes, I suppose it is a cause of concern. Individuals have their own interests, promoters have their own interests; at the end of the day these guys they essentially take what opportunities they have. The only person that can really regulate is the government. By me feeding back to the government, which is what I do for professional fights, and I can institute legally bound professional suspensions, but in the amateur system I don’t think a mechanism’s in place to do that.

Hagar Cohen: OK, so you can’t suspend someone from participating in an amateur fight?

Seth Tarrant: From a legal point of view, to my best knowledge of what I’ve been informed as a ringside physician from the government, no. I’d be very pleased to find out that I can.

Hagar Cohen: In fact, there are regulations for amateur fights. There’s a document that lists them, saying that all amateur fighters must have a medical book, and that:

The medical practitioner shall check the contestant’s medical record book during the pre-contest examination and shall sign the book and provide appropriate comments at the completion of the contest.

In the event of a knock-out or stoppage of a contest on account of injury, the medical practitioner shall enter details of such knock-out or injury on the contestant’s book, together with any recommendation as to period of rest from combat sports.

This was not done for the knocked-out fighter who Seth Tarrant spoke to in Sydney. When Background Briefing told Seth Tarrant about the regulations, he was surprised.

Seth Tarrant: It does surprise me that they say that. I suppose it’s wishful thinking on the department’s behalf.

Hagar Cohen: In the number of amateur fights that you’ve attended as a ringside physician, did any amateur fighter ever present a medical book to you?

Seth Tarrant: In mixed martial arts, I have not been presented with a blue medical book. And in terms of the rigour of the pre-fight and post-fighter checks, in the professionals setting there are specific forms, government issued, that the physician has to fill out, as opposed to the amateur setting, which is basically me doing my thing: looking at the fighter beforehand, asking medical history, a quick examination, and also a post-fight examination, which isn’t documented anywhere. And so obviously in amateur fights, where there is no central database where a fighter’s record, injuries arising from events, are kept, then nobody knows. It’s up to the discretion of the fighter to tell you.

Hagar Cohen: At the Sydney event Background Briefing attended, there was one fight advertised as professional. But Seth Tarrant says he doesn’t know if the fighters had medical books and there was no supervision from the regulator.

Seth Tarrant: No, I was not presented with a medical book, nor did I receive any word from the Combat Sports Authority there.

Hagar Cohen: Would you have liked to see a medical book for those two professional fighters?

Seth Tarrant: Well, I think if it was truly a professional fight, that would be appropriate as per the law.

Steve Perceval: I never used to look after amateurs; I was always handling pros. So this is a bit of an eye-opener for me as well, as to what promoters have been able to get away with. And it’s kind of scary.

Hagar Cohen: He was surprised when amateur fighters didn’t provide serology test results for blood-borne diseases like hepatitis B and C and HIV. Serology tests are compulsory for New South Wales fighters.

Steve Perceval: With the amateurs, it was sort of almost open slather. You know, when I start stopping fights and saying, ‘Listen, these fighters can’t fight because they haven’t given me a serology test,’ that puts a lot of pressure on the promoter, it puts a lot of pressure on the fighters, and it puts a lot of pressure on me as the referee for the matches.

Professional MMA fights, it’s mandatory for the fighters to have their serology tests, their hep B, hep C and HIV. I don’t see the difference between amateur and professionals. They’re still people that can contain these diseases and it should be done for either amateurs or professionals. Doesn’t matter.

Hagar Cohen: He gives a recent example.

Steve Perceval: Well, this was a case that we had a couple of weeks ago where I wouldn’t allow fights to continue because some of the fighters didn’t have their serology tests come back to me. So I stopped the fights. I said, ‘No, these fights aren’t going to go ahead.’ And now I met with a lot of resistance from the promoter, from the fighters themselves. At the end of the day, I explained to the fighters I’m looking out for their wellbeing. The last thing they want to do is contract some disease which they’re not in control of. So I pulled my officials away from that cage so that they would not officiate that fight.

Hagar Cohen: However, Steve Perceval says the main fight of that night did go ahead, without him and his officials. At the moment, he says, a weak regulation system is failing the fighters and the sport.

Steve Perceval: And it’s hard to watch all this happening. It’s my sport. I love the sport and I’m really concerned about the fighters’ safety and wellbeing. I’ve sent emails to every minister for sport in Australia, in every state. I didn’t get responses from a lot of them; from some of them I got responses to say, ‘We’re looking into this. We’re thinking about regulating the sport and we will get back to you.’ As yet, they haven’t got back to me.

Hagar Cohen: There are claims that at other amateur fight shows doctors didn’t attend at all. In Wollongong in 2009, an amateur bout ended with a near-tragedy. Respected MMA promoter, Luke Pezzutti, went along to the event. He was not an organiser, but agreed to help out as a corner man for one of the fighters.

Luke Pezzutti: I was at an event—not an underground event, but it was a smaller event, where the promoter of the event, he hired just a first-aider as the ringside doctor type thing. Now, in that fight one of the fighters got an injury to his throat, to his larynx, and he was choking.

I was in the corner for his opponent and he dropped down on the floor. And I knew him very well and he was looking at me, holding his neck, saying, ‘I’m choking. I’m choking.’ It was a bit unclear how that happened, but that was one of those things that happen in a fight, you know?

And when I’ve called for the doctor, the first-aider came over and, you know, not being a doctor, we were just doing our own first aid steps, you know? Put him in a recovery position on his side, calm him down, we called the ambulance straightaway.

But it was a scary moment there for about 20 minutes, that I thought… I’m not sure, I’m not confident of what to do if this guy passes out, you know, because he can’t breathe.

Hagar Cohen: The injured fighter was a well-known and experienced competitor, Mick Cutajar.

(Fight announcer)

The fight was filmed and the DVD is commercially available. It shows Mick Cutajar collapsing and being assisted by a group of people.

This fighter, who attended the 2009 event, didn’t want to be identified, so we’ve revoiced his comments. He says he was surprised and disturbed by what he saw.

Reader: ‘It was pretty bad, because the guy was lying down and he looked like he’d nearly died. We got emails off him later saying that he was pretty messed up and that he had to spend a couple of days in the hospital because of his injuries to his throat. It looked pretty scary from the sideline too. The paramedic that was there was also doing security, yeah? It was pretty chaotic, and they had to bring in an ambulance. It was pretty bad. He laid there for a while, you know? He looked pretty bad.’

Hagar Cohen: In the following year, 2010, Mick Cutajar organised two other events, in April and September. Background Briefing spoke to a number of fighters, a referee, and other promoters who went along to these events. They all say there was a paramedic but no doctor. One gym owner told Background Briefing that several of his athletes fought there, and none were examined by a doctor before or after their fights. One other fighter spoke on the condition of anonymity, so we’ve revoiced his comments.

Reader: ‘The first thing you notice when you go in is there’s not a doctor on site, which, number one, from having a fighting background you know that even when you win a fight, 99 per cent of the time you’re going to need some kind of medical assistance. To not see a doctor is lunacy.’

Hagar Cohen: Why did you go to that fight in the first place?

Reader: ‘Being in the local area, you want to give all the shows a bit of support. And you want to go there and see the competition of other guys in your weight division. If there’s a local promoter and there’s local guys, then you know everyone who’s fighting, so you want to support it.

‘It’s only when you rock up on the night, and, like, an event with a doctor, an event without a doctor’s got the same poster, the same marketing. It’s not like you rock up and it’s in an underground car park. It’s a proper event, they just cut corners to bring the cost down.’

Hagar Cohen: In an online MMA forum, a local trainer who’s also occasionally an inspector for the Combat Sports Authority confronted Mick Cutajar. Kevin Manderson had attended the event as a corner man for one of the fighters, not in his capacity as an inspector. And he was angry about the situation because he says one of his fighters was concussed and he needed medical attention. Kevin Manderson wrote:

Reader: ‘My concern is with the safety of the fighters and firm adherence to the act. At Mick’s event that April, there was no doctor at the event. That in itself is in violation of any amateur combat permit. When one fighter suffered a concussion, I was very upset. If it wasn’t for the fact that we had help there with us, the situation could have been much worse. Then at the next show Mick put on, in September, there was still no doctor. My concern grew. It is a fundamental part of this sport to ensure the safety of the combatants. For a promoter to completely disregard this is unacceptable. It completely baffles me how a fighter, like Mick, who required immediate medical attention himself, during his last fight back in 2009, would not have a doctor at his show.’

Reader: ‘The Combat Sports Authority ruling for amateur fighting is certainly not clear. I would rather a paramedic over a doctor any day of the week. They deal with this all day every day. When you call triple-0 in an emergency, you get a paramedic, not your local doctor. We have, however, since the last production, worked with a doctor to keep those happy wanting a doctor on site.’

Reader: ‘Bella, it is not a matter of making people happy by having a doctor at the event. It is legislated. Also on the night, when we tried to find a doctor, it was Mick who said there was no one there.’

Hagar Cohen: Background Briefing was unable to arrange an interview with Kevin Manderson. Mick Cutajar also declined an interview request, but on the phone he told Background Briefing that a doctor did attend all his events. He said the doctor was from Wollongong Hospital, but he couldn’t remember his full name. Wollongong Hospital couldn’t confirm this. Background Briefing spoke to the paramedic who attended the events, but he said he didn’t want to comment on the presence of a doctor.

Background Briefing put these allegations to the Combat Sports Authority in New South Wales. We received a statement in response saying the two events in Wollongong received a permit, but it is the promoter’s responsibility to appoint a doctor. It goes on to say that promoters who ignore the rules can be banned from doing other shows, or fined. And, the statement says, compliance officers now attend all amateur MMA contests, but Background Briefing has been at two recent amateur events where there were no government officials.

The situation in New South Wales is of great concern to the Victorian Combat Sports Board. Chairman, Bernie Balmer:

Bernie Balmer: Absolutely, because if you’re going to look at kids coming through a combat sport environment, you want to be able to look after them.

Hagar Cohen: When we spoke on the phone you went as far as saying that you thought it was crazy that the amateurs aren’t being regulated.

Bernie Balmer: Yeah, crazy’s a big word and, look, I probably stand by it. Because if we can have interrelationships between Victoria and New South Wales, it’s important that if there’s a cross-pollination of contestants—that is, amateurs coming to Victoria, Victoria going to New South Wales—that we have some set procedures so that we’re all on the same page. Someone with hep B, HIV, hep C, can not only infect the opponent, but can infect those around the ring if there’s blood spillage. That’s nuts.

Hagar Cohen: The movement of fighters between states with very different systems of regulation causes all sorts of confusion and problems. In Queensland there are no regulations at all.

Peter Hickmott: For us, it’s like being able to drive a truck but not have a licence. Nobody’s really concerned with that until something goes wrong.

Hagar Cohen: MMA referee, Peter Hickmott, started an organisation called MMA Australasia, hoping it will become a national body with a national licensing system for promoters and fighters at all levels.

Peter Hickmott: The primary reason for setting up Mixed Martial Arts Australasia is to make sure that ultimately the fighters, or the athletes, are taken care of so that the fighter safety is paramount for us in any aspect of the sport. If we don’t try and control and put the sport in the right direction now, then it will only implode on itself. And that’s when things happen, people get seriously hurt, and no one takes responsibility for it. We want to make sure that the sport as it grows is controlled in its growth.

Hagar Cohen: Peter Hickmott wants a national database so that information about fighters is easily available: things like who fought when and where, who’s suspended and who’s got medical clearance to fight. He gives an example of the confusion and lack of information that exists now. He describes a professional fighter from New South Wales who was banned from fighting there because of a major head injury. The fighter then went to Canberra and fought in an event organised by a promoter who didn’t know the fighter’s history.

Peter Hickmott: And when I queried that person to that state body, they said, ‘Well, look, he hasn’t renewed his licence because he’s had a major trauma to the head.’ That would have been a prime example that we could have stepped in prior to that bout taking place and said, ‘Hey, look, this is what’s happened to you, mate. Why are you still competing in this sport when you know that the injury you’re carrying could be life threatening?’

Hagar Cohen: The promoter in this case was Kya Pate, who is well known and respected in the industry for his efforts to reform it. He was annoyed the fighter had been able to slip through the gaps.

Kya Pate: Us as the promoter, the guys officiating the contest, them finding out about it: it’s not something the sport needs; it’s not something that’s in anyone’s interests, especially the actual athlete that’s competing. The reason they get suspended is because there’s something wrong. At the end of the day, they’re the ones that are going to suffer the most if there’s no national body. It can happen every week.

Hagar Cohen: So how crucial is this kind of national database, is it for you as a national promoter of mixed martial arts?

Kya Pate: For us, it’s imperative that we have a national body. Otherwise we’re dealing with each individual state and then we’re trying to track who’s done what with who, and I just think it’s the smartest thing to do. And at the end of the day, it’s the safety of the sports, the safety of the fighters. They’re the ones competing.

So people are going to grumble and moan about stuff like this; people always do, people always grumble and moan about legislation. But what’s the reason behind it? That’s what they need to look at. The reason is to keep them safe and make this sport legitimate as possible. It’s only sport. It’s not worth your own life to compete in a sport. It’s exciting, but it’s just a sport.

Hagar Cohen: Kya Pate has registered with MMA Australasia, but membership is voluntary and the organisation has no formal authority. The MMA fight scene continues to expand and there are a growing number of women fighters, who are equally passionate about the sport. At the recent Australian Fighting Championship in Geelong, seasoned fighter, Bec ‘Rowdy’ Hyatt, was confident about her bout.

Bec Hyatt: What do you think? Of course I’m going to win!

Hagar Cohen: She was up against first-timer Daniela Marjanovic. Just four seconds in, Bec punched Daniela in the head and knocked her to the floor. Bec then wrapped her arms around Daniela’s neck in a chokehold. Daniela refused to tap out to end the fight, so Bec’s chokehold lasted until Daniela lost consciousness.

(Noise from the fight)

The fight was over in 21 seconds. Back in the dressing rooms, Bec was happy about the win, but knew it was predictable.

Bec Hyatt: I was just ready and trained hard and knew I was ready to take her down and submit her. I knew I’d be too strong, too experienced for her. Once she went to sleep I was quite worried for her, cause she didn’t come back to consciousness straightaways. It was good. I was very worried. I don’t want to kill my opponents; I just want to win.

Hagar Cohen: It took Daniela a few minutes to recover.

Daniela Marjanovic: A little bit disappointing on my part. I think I could have done a lot better, but she got me in that choke really early and that was a very deep, very strong choke. But hopefully next time I’ll be able to do better.

Hagar Cohen: You didn’t tap out?

Daniela Marjanovic: No, I didn’t. I don’t tap out. I never tap.

Hagar Cohen: Why not?

Daniela Marjanovic: Because I refuse to give up.

Man in background: Stubborn wog. (Daniela laughs)

Hagar Cohen: How did it feel?

Daniela Marjanovic: Felt like I had a bit of a nap and woke up to people shaking my legs.

(Music and audio from fights promo)

Hagar Cohen: This was a professional fight. There was a ringside doctor and the health and safety requirements were all met.

Late last year in Sydney, a kick boxer, Mark Fowler, collapsed after an amateur event. He later died in hospital. A coronial inquest is continuing. At the time, the New South Wales Minister for Sport and Recreation, Graham Annesley, ordered a review of the amateur combat sports guidelines. The review is underway, but people in the industry are impatient. With the way things are going, it may only be a matter of time before there is another death, says MMA promoter John Ioannou.

John Ioannou: One death was one death too much. We don’t want any other deaths, right? If these promoters want to go out and put a show together without adhering to the rules and regulations, there’s going to be a problem.

It’s like everything. If people can get away with it, they will. But we’re playing with people’s livelihoods now, right? This is a physical sport; it is a contact sport, where the whole idea of the sport is for people to strike one another. That’s the bottom line. But they’re striking one another in what we call a ‘controlled environment’.

Hagar Cohen: Do you think the current system is dangerous for the fighters?